Pakistan, Afghanistan and China have resolved to make concerted efforts in maintaining peace and stability in the region, especially in Afghanistan.

The point was agreed on during the first round of the China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Strategic Dialogue held at Kabul on Monday. The session was attended by Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, who led Pakistanâ€™s delegation.

China and Pakistan reiterated support for the â€œAfghan-led and Afghan-ownedâ€ peace and reconciliation process.

China and Afghanistan also expressed their support for Pakistan to host the fifth Ministerial Conference of Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process in 2015.

During the dialogue, the three sides had an in-depth exchange of views on the situations prevailing in the region, issues of peace and security, and trilateral practical cooperation.

The three parties welcomed the formation of the National Unity Government in Afghanistan and enhanced bilateral interaction between Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as increased political, security, counter-terrorism and economic cooperation.

The three sides agreed to carry out a practical cooperation program under the Trilateral Strategic Dialogue and deepen cooperation in the fields of counter-terrorism and security.

KABUL: China has promised to help build a hydropower plant in a violent Afghan border region, as well as road and rail links to Pakistan, in the latest sign it is taking a more active role in Afghanistan.

The assistance will include an unspecified amount of financing, an Afghan foreign ministry spokesman, Sirajul Haq Siraj, said on Tuesday, a day after senior Afghan, Chinese and Pakistani diplomats met in Kabul.

â€œChina agreed to support relevant initiatives for projects including the Kunar hydropower plant and strengthening road and rail connections between Afghanistan and Pakistan,â€ Chinese Foreign Minis-try spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing in Beijing.

Beijing, Islamabad and Kabul resolve to make concerted efforts to maintain stability in Afghanistan

The planned 1,500 megawatt dam on the Kunar River was previously supported only by Pakistan, which could buy some of the electricity generated by it.

In 2013, Pakistan said it would also build a motorway connecting Peshawar with Kabul, as well as a railway line from Chaman to the southern Afghan city of Kandahar.

Kunar is one of Afghanistanâ€™s most active battlefields, with deep valleys and forests near the Pakistan border providing cover for different factions of the Taliban.

Chinaâ€™s involvement could speed up work on these projects, though major Chinese investments including a large copper mine and railway link near Kabul have been put on hold partly because of militant violence.

Mr Siraj said the amount of Chinese financing for the dam and other projects would be decided in later trilateral meetings.

At the meeting, the diplomats also discussed ways to bring Taliban militants to the negotiating table, following a Chinese proposal late last year for a â€œpeace and reconciliationâ€ forum.

At the talks, China and Pakistan reiterated support for an â€œAfghan-led and Afghan-ownedâ€ peace and reconciliation process.

â€œThe three sides resolved to make concerted efforts in maintaining peace and stability in Afghanistan,â€ Pakistan said in a statement.

The three sides agreed to undertake â€œpractical cooperation programmeâ€ under the strategic dialogue and deepen cooperation in the fields of counter-terrorism and security.

On the sidelines of the dialogue, Foreign Secretary Chaudhry held separate meetings with the Afghan deputy foreign minister and Chinese assistant foreign minister.

During their meeting Mr Chaudhry and Mr Hekmat Karzai agreed to hold a structured dialogue at the foreign secretary or deputy minister level every six months to follow up on various issues.

China, meanwhile, has growing interests in Afghanistan, which offers a possible route to the sea from Chinaâ€™s landlocked west.

China wants the country to be stable, both to help it exploit mineral resources and to weaken militants it says operate in the far-western Chinese region of Xinjiang, which borders both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Maybe, but India didn't have significant influence over Kabul in the first place.
Afghanstan is a country opening for all kinds of assistance for her rebuilding. India only distribute a very small part of this foreign aid.

Maybe, but India didn't have significant influence over Kabul in the first place.
Afghanstan is a country opening for all kinds of assistance for her rebuilding. India only distribute a very small part of this foreign aid.

Click to expand...

Is this the reason that Afghan national trust India more than both of your countries? Please read more on the Internet and introduce your PLA/CPP and ISI to the same as well.

Maybe, but India didn't have significant influence over Kabul in the first place.
Afghanstan is a country opening for all kinds of assistance for her rebuilding. India only distribute a very small part of this foreign aid.

Click to expand...

Indians have a deep historical, social, ethnic and cultural bond with afghans. Afghani immigrants open their businesses in little Indias NOT chinatowns..at least here in Canada..

Its so telling your only reasoning is aid.. chinese like to feel powerful cause they have money to throw around right now..pathetic

Indians have a deep historical, social, ethnic and cultural bond with afghans. Afghans open their businesses in little indias NOT chinatowns..at least here in canada..

Its so telling your only reasoning is aid.. chinese like to feel powerful cause they have money to throw around right now..pathetic

Click to expand...

Forget little india, get back to Afghan basics - 1. geography 2. Pakistani ties with Afghans, cultural, ethnic, political 3. money power
These motorways and dams and mining are going to benefit Afghans themselves. Development is an effective antidote to extremism, like the Nobel laureate Malala has shown to the world.

China and Pakistan reiterated support for the â€œAfghan-led and Afghan-ownedâ€ peace and reconciliation process. By so doing Pakistan will keep her strategic depth, China safeguard her frontiers and investment.

Ashraf Ghani is a blessing for both Afghanistan and Pakistan and he has made his peace with Abdullah so govt is finally united on domestic and foreign policies and unlike the puppet Karzai, these guys are serious about development and security.

Afghanistan will make peace with the neighbors and this is the only way the country can prosper after decades of war.

Forget little india, get back to Afghan basics - 1. geography 2. Pakistani ties with Afghans, cultural, ethnic, political 3. money power
These motorways and dams and mining are going to benefit Afghans themselves. Development is an effective antidote to extremism, like the Nobel laureate Malala has shown to the world.

China and Pakistan reiterated support for the â€œAfghan-led and Afghan-ownedâ€ peace and reconciliation process. By so doing Pakistan will keep her strategic depth, China safeguard her frontiers and investment.

Click to expand...

How can you forget little India ? India has common border with Afghanisthan...

The recent incident of Afghan Sikhs rescued from a shipping container from a UK port has again brought to the limelight the plight of the Hindus and Sikhs in Afghanistan.

Both the minority communities have been facing discrimination at the hands of the majority Muslim community. Sikh children are not allowed to go to the schools and if they dare to, they are bullied and beaten up. Also there have been some incidents where Muslim kids have cut their hair. The Sikh women do not go out of their homes because they are insulted and laughed at. And the Sikh men, who once used to be rich traders, have been forced to work as labourers as they are not allowed to do business and buy lands. By all accounts there are absolutely no more Hindus left in Afghanistan.

Talking to many Afghan Sikh men, women and children, reveals a very poignant story about their life in present day Afghanistan. Children say "Pathans beat us and call us 'kachaloo' (a derogatory word that translates to sweet potato), men say "the Muslims always ask us to convert to Islam" and women say "We never leave our house - we are not safe in the streets".

-The head of Hindu and Sikh council in Afghanistan, Avtar Singh says there are fewer than 500 Sikh families left in Afghanistan who are living their lives in oblivion, and under the constant fear of Muslim community. But sadly, they don't have enough money to leave the country as well.

The head also informed that he has appealed in the Afghanistan parliament and talked to various ministers but no one came forward to help. He said that he also asked gurdwara committees in India who also did not show any interest. Singh also said that he himself is a victim who lost 16 family members to this war of hatred and discrimination, but still he said, "I can't leave my fellow Sikhs in Afghanistan".

Listen to the special programme on Plight of Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan here

Sikhs in Afghanistan

Afghan Sikhs and Hindus have a long history, in the country. Some Sikhs settled in Afghanistan after the first Sikh guru Guru Nanak Dev visited the country in the 15th century.- But a majority settled down in 19th century for trading purpose. They were traditionally a thriving vibrant community, which was well respected in Afghanistan

Before 1990s, the Afghan Sikh and Hindu population was estimated around 50,000. But at present, there are less than 1000 people living there facing an uncertain future.

The main problem started during the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan, when many Afghan Sikhs & Hindus fled to India; a second wave followed following the 1992 fall of the Najibullah regime. Gurdwaras throughout the country were destroyed in the Afghan Civil War of the 1990s, leaving only the Gurdwara Karte Parwan in Kabul.

Under the Taliban, the Sikhs were a relatively tolerated religious minority, and allowed to practice their religion. However, the Sikh custom of cremation of the dead was prohibited by the Taliban, and cremation grounds vandalised. In addition, Sikhs were required to wear yellow patches or veils to identify themselves

Maybe, but India didn't have significant influence over Kabul in the first place.
Afghanstan is a country opening for all kinds of assistance for her rebuilding. India only distribute a very small part of this foreign aid.

Click to expand...

India has given more than China and Pakistan . Comparison with aid from the ISAF countries is pointless here.

India faces an impasse - geography. It has to cling to the gateway of Chahabar Port at Iran's mercy, meandering all the way to Afghanistan, which is expensive and vulnerable.

Do u see the implications of the first ever China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Strategic Dialogue? The 3 countries formally join hands pooling our strength together, Chinese money, Pakistani know-how and Afghan resources. Also Taliban that's engaged in the reconciliation process is no gospel for India.

Religion is different from nationality .

Click to expand...

Of course religion is crucial especially in such a quagmire of empires. That's why China used to refrain from any large-scale involvement and still would rather back Pakistan to play a vital role in Afghanistan.

India has given more than China and Pakistan . Comparison with aid from the ISAF countries is pointless here.

Click to expand...

Pakistan has hosted over five million Afghan refugees for decades and India has given what? $2 billion dollars? That doesn't even compare to what we have spent on these refugees and their next generation born in Pakistan.

Once the remigration is completed, it's mostly the Pakistan born and educated Afghans who will take charge of the economy as Afghanistan has a severe shortage of educated labor.

China has promised to help build a hydropower plant in a violent Afghan border region, as well as road and rail links to Pakistan, in the latest sign it is taking a more active role in Afghanistan.

What happened to the promised hydropower project in Pakistan?

Pakistan did not 'host' Afghan refugees.

They merely turned them into terrorists and unleashed them to suit Pakistan's interest.

And the money came from the US and Saudis so that Pakistan could 'host' Afghans refugees.

Once the remigration is completed, it's mostly the Pakistan born and educated Afghans terrorist who will once again be let loose to cause the earlier type of chaos and mayhem.

If India faces an impasse - geography. And shehas to cling to the gateway of Chahabar Port at Iran's mercy, meandering all the way to Afghanistan, which is expensive and vulnerable. is China expecting to walk in without any meandering and without being at the mercy of the TTP and the East Turkeman insurgents?

India faces an impasse - geography. It has to cling to the gateway of Chahabar Port at Iran's mercy, meandering all the way to Afghanistan, which is expensive and vulnerable.

Do u see the implications of the first ever China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Strategic Dialogue? The 3 countries formally join hands pooling our strength together, Chinese money, Pakistani know-how and Afghan resources. Also Taliban that's engaged in the reconciliation process is no gospel for India.

Of course religion is crucial especially in such a quagmire of empires. That's why China used to refrain from any large-scale involvement and still would rather back Pakistan to play a vital role in Afghanistan.

Click to expand...

Still less than India . Besides let us wait till April things will become clearer.
There is no extra significance of the trilateral meeting it was an expected continuation .
India clings to Iran the same way China clings to Pakistan. Afghanistan is very happy to have Chabahar as an alternative .Afghanistan warns Pak over Wagah border access

China has promised to help build a hydropower plant in a violent Afghan border region, as well as road and rail links to Pakistan, in the latest sign it is taking a more active role in Afghanistan.

What happened to the promised hydropower project in Pakistan?

Pakistan did not 'host' Afghan refugees.

They merely turned them into terrorists and unleashed them to suit Pakistan's interest.

And the money came from the US and Saudis so that Pakistan could 'host' Afghans refugees.

Click to expand...

Your views are biased and subjective as ever, you know zilch about Pakistan. You parade all over the forum preeching your 'expert' opinion fooling and feeding trolls and hatemongers and promoting misperception only because you're obsessed with Pakistan. You may have retired but your war never ended...